Mammals of Tanzania

Tanzania is famous for its large mammals in a wide variety of habitats. While animals such as the elephant and lion capture the attention of most people, there are myriad species of smaller mammal, some found only in Tanzania that are unique and, in many cases, severely threatened.

Tanzania, the largest country in eastern Africa, has a wide variety of habitats with unique faunas. The geology of the country is stunning in diversity with valleys and mountains that are household names around the world. Rift and Kilimanjaro are two such examples. Other notable geologic icons include Ngorongoro Crater and the Eastern Arc Mountains. Whether a mist shrouded montane forest or a sun baked savannah, each is home to shrews, bats and antelope that capture the imagination.

This bilingual (English and Kiswahili) website is designed to both introduce the interested novice to the mammals of Tanzania, and serve as an aid to biologists focused on the study and conservation of these special mammals.

While the ultimate aim of this site is to cover all mammals of Tanzania, the initial emphasis is on those species associated with the mountains of this eastern African country. These mountains can be categorized in four major groups: the northern highlands (including Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro), the Eastern Arc (including the Usambara and Udzungwa Mountains), the southern Highlands (including Rungwe and Kitulo) and the Albertine Rift (including Mahale). Each of these groups has different geologic origins, and climatic regimes. There are mammalian faunas that are, in some cases, shared among these montane groups, and in other cases unique to each.

In this site, you will find tools to aid in the identification of Tanzanian mammals, descriptions of each of the species (currently only those associated with montane settings or a select set of others), overviews of the various mountains of Tanzania, and related data sets and outreach products for use in educational programs focused on Tanzanian mammalogy.

We very much look forward to hearing from those that have used this site and have suggestions for how it can be improved. Please contact us if you have comments.

To explore the Mammals of Tanzania project in full go to the micro-site, click here.